Driftwood Deli - Tahoe

Driftwood Deli

Tahoe
​self-released; 2016

​3.4 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Ian Sears (guitar/drums) and Wesley Russell (bass) are Driftwood Deli. The duo doesn’t have much under their belt at this moment but are starting small with a three-song EP entitled Tahoe. Tahoe clocks in around eight-minutes long and serves as a mere introduction to the style even if it feels like an underwhelming appetizer.

Sears and Russell play prog and math rock. Spears pulls off unconventional scales while the rhythm is not exactly apt for dancing unless you are a pro. I personally enjoy most music that deviates from the typical 4/4, which is utilized most often in contemporary pop music here in the west. The band does a good job playing but there were a couple of instances where I noticed they unintentionally got a little off time.

Up first is “Dutch Crunch” which is arguably the most original sounding of the three songs. I say that because of the dichotomy between the straightforward math rock and the atmospheric, melancholy parts. It works well and I wasn’t sure how the band would get back to the verse but they do even if it was somewhat abrupt. The outro on this track reminds me of something more lush you would hear from Modest Mouse.

“Masaka” is another solid track with some effective, dissonant bass parts, which contrasted nicely against the incongruous guitar. They close with “Golden Gate Park, 6:30” which had some more solid instrumental parts but I wasn’t a fan of some of the somewhat silly vocal aspects. There is break in the music around the two-minute make where the band goes pure atmosphere and a vocal sample is played. It was a decent idea but not completely effective.

Tahoe is certainly a band with some potential but still needs to do some refining. All things considered they are off to a good start but fall into a category of wait and see.

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